The world of rock music is always shifting – we’ve seen the rise and fall of hard rock and the Britpop invasion golden era in the 90’s, nu-metal, pop-punk, emo and screamo came and gone in the 2000s, and now, as we are in 2016, the scene seems to be dominated by metalcore, post-hardcore and pop punk infused with electronic beats. We have prepared a special Summer Features introducing four up-and-coming bands in these genre through in-depth interviews and coverage exclusively in Hong Kong. Let the summer begin with The Maine, Emarosa, Beartooth and Blessthefall (Asia Tour final stop at Legacy Taipei)! Plus special feature on why Hidden Agenda Live House matters to every gig-goers in Hong Kong!

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Chapter 1:

The Maine — 朋克侵略 Pop Punk Invasion

The Maine, the Arizona outfits who have been active since 2007 and known for their upbeat, vibrant pop punk songs, have received their first worldwide success with 2015 release “American Candy.” We have the chance to talk to their man behind the kit, Pat Kirch, on their inspiration, journey in Asia and more!

FEEL THE GROOVE

Dinosaur Journal: 您們的新專輯 American Candy 似乎與舊有風格有點不同，音樂編排好像朝著更多「電子」的方向。這就是 The 1975 遇上 The Starting Line 一樣。為何會有這個改變？

The Maine:我們想製作一個很有節奏感的專輯，令人很想邊聽邊舞動的。在撰寫這個作品時，我們心中其實沒有特別的樂團作借鑑，反而隨意看看有什麼可以作靈感來源。我們不希望製作與以往相同的專輯，那可能就是聲音變化的原因。我們一直在尋找新的音樂和靈感，把它融入我們的聲音中。

Dinosaur Journal: Your latest work “American Candy” seems to deviate from your older sound and towards more of the ”electronic” direction. It’s like discovering The 1975 in The Starting Line. What’s the reason for the change?

The Maine: We knew we wanted to make a record with a good groove to it. Something that made you want to dance and have a good time while listening to the record. We didn’t have any other artists in mind while writing just wanted to see where we could take things. We never want to make the same record a second time so what is where our change in sound comes from we are always finding new music and inspiration and incorperating things into our sound.

MAKE YOU THINK

Dinosaur Journal:新專輯的歌詞內容充滿很多車社會意識的信息。其實你們想透過新歌講述什麼故事？

The Maine:因為是 John (O’Callaghan) 負責撰寫歌詞的，因此我不想代他作解說。但我知道他所寫的一張專輯都希望能引起人們思考。

Dinosaur Journal: The lyrical content in the new album is filled with many socially-conscious messages. What kind of story are you trying to tell in your new songs?

The Maine: I don’t want to speak for John (O’Callaghan) directly because he writes all of the words but I know it was important for him to write an album that makes people think.

SOCIAL DARKNESS

The Maine:人可以很刻薄。年輕可以說是人生一個困難的時期，有些人在互聯網上對別人的指責十分可怕，同時他們會有這個奇怪的想法，認為自己躲在電腦屏幕背後像是隱形似的。我們經常看到這個現象，所以希望用歌曲和視頻引起大家對此的關注。

Dinosaur Journal: In your latest single “Am I Pretty?”, you guys address the issue of dealing with the judgmental eyes on body shapes and appearance. Can you explain a little bit about song?

The Maine: People are mean. It is a hard time to be young, the things that people are saying about other people on the internet is so terrible and it is this weird thing where people feel invisible because they are behind a computer screen. It is something that we see so often and wanted to bring it to people’s attention with the song and video.

SUMMER BLUE

The Maine: John 腦海裏有這個封面圖案和藍色主題的想法，在拍攝封套照片後，所有細節都不謀而合。我們盡量把平面設計與音樂方向拉近，而今次的效果有互相輝映之效。

Dinosaur Journal: Speaking of “American Candy”, even the cover art and booklet graphics deliver the vibrancy (with a bit of naughtiness and seductiveness haha.) How did you come up with this concept?

The Maine: John had the idea for the cover picture and the blue color scheme and once we shot the cover everything just came together. We did our best to make the images fit the sound of the album as close as possible and I think this is the closest we have been able to get.

DREAMING IN ASIA

The Maine:這真是很瘋狂！樂隊剛開始我完全不會想像會到美國以外的其他地方巡演，這一切都遠超過我們的期望。在不同地方有着這麼支持我們的樂迷真的很高興。亦要感謝音樂帶我們到這麼多令人驚喜的地方。我喜歡這一切！

Dinosaur Journal: From your past world tours, we can see The Maine have quite a large fan base in Southeast Asia and Brazil. How does it feel like to have your music so accepted over the world?

The Maine: It is crazy! When the band first started I had no idea that you could tour outside of the United States so everything has been far beyond what we dreamed for. It feels so good to have such a dedicated fanbase all around the world. We get to visit so many amazing places all thanks to music. I love all of it!

8123 FAMILY

Dinosaur Journal: As a rising star in the independent pop rock / pop punk genre, how would you exert your power to help your young fans?

The Maine: We just try and build a community around the music. So many of our fans have met friends at shows and they have all of these amazing relationships and it is all based around our little 8123 family. I couldn’t be happier to have the fans we do. So many good people!